REMINISCENCES 
o/  a  FORTY-NINER 


BY  W.  G.  GOGHRAN 


WILLIAM    GRANVILLE     COCHRAN 


REMINISCENCES 
of  a  FORTY-NINER 

Being  a  Brief  History  of  Lovington 

and  Vicinity  When  It  Was  Yet 

In  Its  Swaddling  Clothes 

BY 

WILLIAM  GRANVILLE  COCHRAN 


REPORTER     PRINTING     COMPANY 

LOVINGTON     :     :     :     :     ::     ILLINOIS 

NINETEEN     :     HUNDRED     :     AND     :     EIGHT 


FOREWORD 


in  1906  the  following  reminiscences  of  early  days  in 
Ivovington  and  vicinity  were  published  in  THE  LOVING- 
TON  REPORTER.  Numerous  requests  having  been  made  by  my 
friends  for  copies  of  the  articles,  I  have  decided  to  fill  the 
"long  felt  want"  by  issuing  this  little  booklet.  The  appendix 
hereto  is  an  appreciation  from  the  pen  of  Editor  Stanley  of  the 
Reporter  and  was  published  in  his  paper  following  the  series 
of  Reminiscences. 

Trusting  that  this  story  of  '  'ye  olden  days' '  will  strike  a 
responsive  chord  in  many  hearts;  that  it  will  revive  tender 
memories  of  the  long  ago,  and  that  somehow  it  may  give  you 
pleasure  in  its  perusal,  I  wish  you  a  Merry  Christmas  and  a 
Happy  New  Year.  Faithfully  yours, 

W.  G.  COCHRAN. 
December  25th,  1908. 


f 


Reminiscences  of  a  Forty-Niner 


HAVK  had  a  notion  for  some  time  to  write  about 
the  early  settlers,  settlement  and  other  matters  of 
interest  in  I/ovington  township  and  village,  and 
trust  that  the  following  necessarily  brief  resume 
of  the  early  days  in  this  vicinity  will  be  worthy  of 
perusal  and  preservation.  Such  history  is  not 
usually  interesting  to  the  young,  but  those  who  have  helped 
build  up  a  community  are  always  interested  in  reminiscences 
of  the  same. 

It  has  been  about  seventy-five  years  since  the  first  set- 
tlers located  in  what  is  now  Lovington  township.     A  Mr. 
"    Daniel  Pea.  from  Kentucky,  settled  on  what  is  known  as 
the  Wilkinson  farm,  now  owned  by  Stanton  Adkins.     He 
.    settled  there  about  1830  or  '31,  and  was  soon  followed  by 
•    the  Southers,  who  settled  on  the  home  place  of  Mr.  Adkins. 
The  next  year  the  Snyders,  Kellars  and  some  of  the  Hud- 
son and  Wood  families  dropped  in  from  Kentucky. 

The   first   homes   were   necessarily   log   cabins   and  very 

small.    The  crops  were  not  very  good  and  from  the  reports 

that  went  back  from  these  first  settlers,  persons  intending 

to  emigrate  postponed  their  coming  for  a  year  or  two. 

The  next  emigrants  came  from  North   Carolina.     They 


REMINISCENCES  *f  *  FORTY-NINER 

were  few  and  most  of  them  went  back  or  moved  on  west. 
Some  of  them  remained  a  few  years  and  joined  the  Mor- 
mons and  moved  over  to  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  which  was 
Mormon  headquarters  at  that  time. 

I  am  told  that  the  first  settlers  had  a  hard  time.  Some 
of  them  were  poor  and  were  wholly  dependent  upon  what 
they  could  raise  and  kill  for  their  living.  The  Southers, 
Kellars  and  Snyders  had  money,  or  could  get  it  from  their 
friends  in  Kentucky. 

Andrew  Jackson  was  president  and  his  well-known  op- 
position to  the  banking  system  then  in  vogue  caused  a 
money  panic  and  for  a  few  years  money  was  not  very 
plentiful,  especially  in  the  new  states. 

About  1835  emigration  set  in  again  from  Kentucky  and 
quite  a  good  many  pushed  out  into  Lovington  township, 
which  was  then  a  part  of  Macon  county.  Moultrie  coun- 
ty was  not  organized  until  February  16.  1842,  most  of  the 
territory  being  taken  from  Shelby  county.  The  first  set- 
tlers located  along  the  edge  of  the  timber,  it  was  said,  be- 
cause they  feared  the  storms  and  wanted  to  be  near  fuel; 
but  there  were,  perhaps,  some  other  good  reasons.  The 
streams  are  all  near  the  timber  and  they  wanted  to  be  near 
running  water  and  away  from  the  ponds  of  the  prairies. 

From  1835  to  1845  the  country  settled  up  pretty  fast  and 
there  are  some  living  who  came  during  that  period,  but  of 
the  first  few  families  not  many  remain.  Some  of  Mr.  Pea's 
family  live  in  the  township  yet.  All  of  the  improvements 
are  gone.  Time  and  the  elements  have  destroyed  them 
and  there  is  not  one  original  landmark  left.  For  a  long 
time  a  part  of  the  first  house  built  in  the  township  stood 
back  of  the  newer  house  on  the  Wilkinson  farm,  but  even 
the  newer,  as  well  as  the  old  one,  is  gone. 


REMINISCENCES  *r  ^  FORTY-NINER 

Peter  Hasting,  one  of  the  early  settlers,  used  to  own  the 
farm  and  lived  there,  but  he  is  dead  and  his  family  gone. 
"Hickory"  Kellar,  as  he  was  called,  was  perhaps  one  of 
the  most  influential  men  of  all  the  early  settlers.  He  was 
one  of  the  commissioners  who  organized  the  county  and 
the  only  one  from  the  north  part  of  the  county.  He  owned 
a  mill,  run  by  horse  power,  and  if  the  people's  digestion 
had  been  as  poor  then  as  now,  they  would  have  had  a 
good  deal  of  trouble  with  the  meal  made  at  that  horse 
mill.  Fortunately  indigestion  was  not  fashionable  then 
and  people  did  not  take  to  it  very  much. 

Trouble  With  Mormons 

About  this  time  Mormonism  began  to  be  discussed  and 
some  missionaries  from  Nauvoo  came  into  the  community 
and  courted  argument,  which  finally  ended  in  debate,  with 
the  result  that  quite  a  good  many  of  the  settlers  joined 
the  Mormon  church.  Finally  they  all  assembled  and  in 
wagons  started  west,  taking  some  of  the  settlers'  women 
with  them.  A  posse  of  men  with  guns  followed  them  and 
over  west,  on  the  Springfield  road,  about  the  John  Ullrich 
farm,  they  overtook  the  Mormon  elders  and  their  converts 
and  compelled  the  women  and  children  to  return  to  their 
homes.  They  allowed  the  men  to  go  on  and  some  of  them 
never  came  back. 

I  have,  in  the  last  few  years,  followed  the  wanderings 
of  one  of  them  through  Iowa,  Missouri  and  on  to  Idaho 
and  recovered  for  his  widow  her  interest  in  lands  that  he 
owned  in  these  different  states  and  which  he  and  his  Mor- 
mon wife  had  conveyed  away.  They  could  not  defeat  the 
lawful  wife  he  had  married  in  Kentucky  and  lived  with  and 
left  here  in  Illinois  in  1848. 

7 


REMINISCENCES  °/  *  FORTY-NINER 

Most  of  this  information  as  to  these  years  I  have  gath- 
ered from  old  settlers.  I  did  not  arrive  until  1849. 

Incidents  of  Early  Days 

We  came  to  Lovington  directly  from  Ross  county,  Ohio, 
arriving  about  October  7.  1849.  We  traveled  in  covered 
wagons  and  first  stopped  at  Uncle  Andy  Foster's.  Soon 
thereafter  father  bought  a  farm  of  Clarkson  Williamson, 
where  we  soon  settled,  and  lived  until  father  and  mother 
died.  Their  oldest  son  still  owns  and  lives  on  a  part  of 
the  same  farm. 

The  leading  men  in  the  precinct,  as  it  was  then  called, 
were  the  Fosters,  Dawsons,  Porters,  Hewitts,  Howells, 
Woods.  Cochrans.  Abram  Kellar  and  the  Snyders.  About 
that  time  the  Loves  moved  into  the  township  and  settled 
just  west  of  Lovington  on  the  Springfield  road,  where  the 
first  postoffice  was  established.  It  was  soon  after  moved 
to  Stephen  Cannon's  store,  which  stood  on  the  corner  of 
the  lot  where  .Byron  Cheever  now  lives.  The  postorfice 
was  the  center  of  attraction,  and  the  elections  were  held 
there. 

At  the  election  after  we  came  to  the  township  there  were 
about  thirty-five  votes  polled.  The  mail  was  carried  or. 
horseback  by  a  man  called  "Sheepskin."  He  would  make 
a  trip  a  week  from  Charleston  or  Paris  to  Decatur  and 
back,  provided  the  rivers  were  not  high.  That  gave  us 
two  mails  a  week  in  good  weather.  The  postmaster  kept 
most  of  the  letters  in  his  hat,  so  as  to  have  them  handy 
when  anyone  called  for  their  mail.  There  are  families  in 
the  township  now  who  get  more  mail  each  week  than  all 
the  people  got  then  in  the  same  length  of  time,  but  letters 
received  by  the  settlers  were  greatly  prized,  as  they 

8 


REMINISCENCES  «f  ^  FORTY-NINER 

brought  news  from  the  old  homes  back  in  Kentucky  and 
Ohio  and  farther  east. 

The  early  settlers  were  men  of  honor  and  good  charac- 
ter. There  was  little  use  for  law  officers,  but  they  elected 
justices  of  the  peace  and  constables,  and  there  were  some 
lawsuits  in  those  local  courts.  George  Hewitt  was  the 
first  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  township.  He  lived  where 
S.  S.  Wood  lived  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  bought  that 
farm  from  a  man  who  went  west  with  the  Mormons.  Mr. 
Wood  settled  in  the  township  in  1833.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  was  the  oldest  settler  in  Lovington  township. 

The  first  trial  I  ever  witnessed  was  held  in  the  old  school 
house.  Andrew  Cochran  and  Alex  Porter  were  the  justices 
of  the  peace.  It  was  a  preliminary  hearing  of  a  man  who 
had  killed  his  neighbor,  and  it  required  two  justices  to 
hear  the  case.  Hon.  John  R.  Eden  was  prosecuting  attor- 
ney, and  Captain  Lee  represented  the  defendant.  I  thought 
they  were  going  to  kill  each  other  the  way  they  talked, 
but  I  have  long  since  learned  that  what  lawyers  say  to 
each  other  is  what  they  suppose  their  clients  want  them 
to  say,  and  does  not  mean  much.  I  noticed  that  when 
court  adjourned  and  one  of  the  justices  asked  them  both 
to  go  home  with  him  for  supper,  they  readily  accepted 
and  walked  off  arm  in  arm.  The  defendant  was  held  to  the 
circuit  court  and  was  afterwards  indicted  and  tried  at 
Charleston,  Illinois,  and  found  "not  guilty."  The  viola- 
tions of  the  law  were  not  very  frequent  and  when  a  man 
was  accused  of  a  crime,  it  was  generally  supposed  he  was 
guilty. 

Between  farming  on  the  high  ground  and  hunting  wild 
game,  which  was  very  plentiful,  the  people  had  a  good 
living.  The  only  diversion  besides  hunting  was  church 


REMINISCENCES  o/  *  FORTY-NINER 

once  a  month  and  a  few  parties  for  the  young  folks. 
Sleighing  was  always  good  in  the  winter.  Bart  Foster 
used  to  come  all  the  way  from  Ohio  each  winter  just  to 
get  to  sleigh  ride  and  see  the  good  looking  girls  out  here. 
I  have  known  him  to  be  out  seven  nights  in  the  week  and 
part  of  the  days. 

The  most  amusing  thing  that  ever  happened  in  those 
early  days  was  a  trial,  held  as  usual,  at  the  Hewitt  school 
house.  A  man  was  charged  with  larceny,  and  the  trial 
was  in  progress  before  Squire  Andrew  Cochran.  It  was 
at  night  and  the  court  took  a  recess  to  get  a  drink  of 
water.  When  the  court  resumed  business,  the  defendant 
could  not  be  found,  and  the  officers,  with  the  crowd,  rushed 
for  their  horses  and  started  in  pursuit,  as  they  supposed, 
but  the  defendant  could  not  be  found.  After  a  fruitless 
search  until  late  in  the  night,  they  gave  up  the  chase  and 
the  court  stated  that  an  adjournment  would  be  taken  until 
the  defendant  was  found.  It  turned  out  that  the  defendant 
had  concealed  himself  under  the  stile,  where  everybody 
entered  the  school  house  yard,  and  when  they  all  left  he 
came  out  and  mounted  a  horse  that  was  conveniently 
near  and  rode  off  at  his  leisure.  In  about  three  months 
he  came  back  and  was  never  molested  thereafter. 

The  most  frequent  disputes  were  about  hogs  and  young 
cattle.  There  were  some  spirited  trials  about  the  owner- 
ship of  property,  but  they  were  only  a  source  of  amusement 
to  us  young  folks,  as  we  had  no  financial  interest  involved. 
In  fact  the  property  was  not  very  valuable,  as  hogs  were 
plentiful  and  were  running  wild  in  the  timber,  and  a  calf 
could  be  bought  for  three  dollars.  I  have  seen  cows  sell 
for  eight  and  ten  dollars  in  those  times. 

I  saw  Charles  Howell  kill  a  deer  in  father's  corn  field, 

10 


REMINISCENCES  «j  *  FORTY-NINER 

and  he  just  took  me  off  my  horse  and  put  the  deer  on  in 
front  of  himself,  and  let  me  walk  around  the  road  home. 
I  thought  he  had  the  buck  ague;  he  seemed  to  be  excited.  \/\ 

Meagre  School  Facilities 

The  first  school  house  built  in  Lovington  township  was 
situated  in  the  timber  north  of  the  Alex  Porter  farm,  on 
land  which  then  belonged  to  the  Wood  family.  It  was 
built  of  logs  with  a  clapboard  roof,  held  on  by  weight 
poles,  or  rib  poles,  as  they  were  called.  There  was  no  loft 
in  the  house,  a  puncheon  floor  and  seats  made  of  logs  split 
in  two  and  wooden  pins  stuck  in  the  under  side  for  legs. 
The  seats  were  not  very  smooth,  yet  they  were  very  strong. 
A  log  was  taken  out  of  the  south  end  of  the  building  and 
greased  paper  pasted  over  the  opening  for  windows.  The 
fireplace  was  very  large,  the  lower  part  of  the  chimney 
being  a  large  stone  and  the  upper  part  made  of  sticks  and 
clay.  The  larger  boys  were  usually  employed  in  bringing 
in  long  sticks  of  wood  to  keep  up  the  fire.  There  was 
plenty  of  heat,  but  most  of  it  found  an  outlet  through 
the  upper  end  of  the  chimney. 

The  first  teacher  that  I  can  remember  was  Ed  Rain,  a 
Scotchman,  who  came  out  here  from  Ohio  and  taught  one 
school.  He  was  a  well-educated  man  and  a  good  school 
teacher  for  his  day.  I  went  to  him  a  short  time,  but  did 
not  get  very  far  advanced.  He  started  to  return  to  his 
native  land,  but  was  drowned  while  crossing  the  ocean. 

Afterwards  Newton  Trabue  taught  in  the  same  log 
school  house  one  or  two  terms.  There  were  but  two 
school  houses  in  the  township,  one  located  west  of  Lov- 
ington on  the  Allen  Clore  farm,  and  the  log  house  above 
mentioned.  There  was  also  a  grave  yard  at  the  school 

ii 


U.  OF  ILL  LIB. 


REMINISCENCES  *f  ^  FORTY-NINER 

house  on  the  Clore  farm  and  six  or  eight  persons  were 
buried  there,  but  their  graves  are  all  leveled  down  and 
cannot  be  noticed  now. 

Mrs.  John  Love  taught  in  the  school  house  west  of 
Lovington.  I  went  to  school  to  her  for  a  short  time.  She 
was  a  sister  of  Judge  Emerson  of  Decatur,  and  a  very 
bright  woman.  Some  of  her  children  are  living  yet.  but 
not  in  this  county. 

The  two  districts  took  in  the  entire  township  and  the 
schools  of  that  day  were  not  very  crowded.  Later  on  the 
north  school  house  was  re-located  and  a  building  erected 
out  of  logs  at  the  Hewitt  grave  yard.  One  of  the  first 
teachers  was  Jim  Smith.  George  Hewitt  was  a  school 
director  and  I  heard  him  examine  Smith  as  to  his  quali- 
fications. It  took  about  five  minutes  and  he  was  consid- 
ered qualified.  He  was  a  very  young  man  from  Kentucky, 
but  he  was  spunky  and  could  flog,  as  he  called  it,  with 
much  satisfaction  to  himself.  We  had  what  was  called 
the  large  spelling  class  and  the  rule  was  that  whoever 
missed  three  words  should  be  flogged.  It  is  needless 
for  me  to  here  state  that  I  was  always  at  the  foot  of  the 
class  and  eligible  each  day  to  be  flogged.  I  had  one 
advantage,  being  at  the  foot  of  the  class;  by  the  time  he 
reached  me  he  was  pretty  well  played  out  and  the  strokes 
were  lighter  than  when  he  began. 

Of  all  that  class,  and  there  were  often  as  many  as  twen- 
ty, reaching  along  one  side  of  the  little  school  room  and 
almost  across  one  end,  I  can  only  recall  two  of  us  now 
living  in  this  county,  John  Porter  and  myself.  Smith  saved 
his  money,  and  after  a  few  years  he  went  into  partnership 
with  Uncle  Andy  Foster  in  the  dry  goods  business  and 
made  money.  Some  twenty  years  or  more  ago  he  died  in 

12 


REMINISCENCES  o/  ^  FORTY-NINER 

Lovington  and  was  buried  in  the  Hewitt  grave  yard,  near 
where  the  old  school  house  stood,  in  which  he  taught  his 
first  school. 

But  I  have  said  enough  to  give  some  idea  of  the  number 
and  kind  of  schools  we  had  in  that  day.  It  was  about  that 
time  when  the  school  law  of  this  state  was  perfected  and 
schools  began  to  multiply  and  improve.  The  great  state 
of  Illinois  may  well  be  proud  of  her  school  system,  but 
it  was  not  brought  about  so  easily  as  we  might  suppose. 
From  1825  to  1853  educational  societies  and  school  conven- 
tions were  constantly  urging  the  improvement  of  our 
school  laws,  and  it  was  not  until  1833  that  the  law  pro- 
vided for  the  payment  of  teachers  from  the  income  of  the 
school  fund.  In  1837  the  government  distributed  to  the 
state  $477..919.00,  which  was  added  to  the  school  fund,  and 
a  law  passed  providing  for  school  trustees,  and  in  1841 
school  directors  were  substituted  for  trustees.  Then  the 
building  of  school  houses  and  the  employment  of  teachers 
began  to  be  a  regular  business  in  each  school  district.  The 
system  has  continued  up  to  this  time,  until  now  Loving- 
ton  township  has  about  a  dozen  school  houses  and  prob- 
ably six  hundred  pupils,  with  a  sufficient  number  of  edu- 
cated and  competent  teachers,  most  of  whom  have,  to 
some  extent,  secured  their  education  in  some  of  the  schools 
of  the  township.  Some  have  gone  out  into  the  state  and 
made  for  themselves  a  reputation  of  which  they  should  be 
proud.  I  remember  some  who  are  now  superintendents 
of  high  schools  in  other  places,  and  some  who  have  en- 
rolled their  names  among  the  faculties  of  some  of  our  col- 
leges. 

No  one  should  feel  now  that  they  cannot  obtain  in  the 
common  schools  of  Lovington  township  all  that  is  neces- 

13 


REMINISCENCES  o/  ^  FORTY-NINER 

sary  to  give  them  a  start  in  the  line  of  an  education.  If 
there  are  those  now  living  in  the  township  who  feel  dis- 
couraged in  that  line,  just  cast  your  eyes  back  to  a  period 
of  fifty  years  ago  and  draw  a  comparison  between  the  op- 
portunities of  then  and  now;  and  take  fresh  courage.  While 
we  of  that  day  have  not  done  very  much  in  the  way  of  ad- 
vancement, remember  that  we  had  a  very  poor  start,  and 
the  field  was  not  so  large  as  it  is  now.  Very  many  ave- 
nues have  opened  up  in  the  last  half  a  century  for  the  em- 
ployment of  the  mental  faculties.  Invention  has  demanded 
the  operation  of  much  machinery,  which  requires  thought, 
and  education  always  develops  thought.  Hence,  I  think 
the  young  people  of  the  township  should  feel  encouraged 
with  the  opportunity  now  presented  them  for  higher 
education  and  I  hope  you  will  have  a  township  high  school 
at  no  distant  day.  (Since  above  was  written  a  township 
high  school  has  been  organized  and  a  fine  high  school 
building  erected.) 

The  store  house  of  knowledge  is  always  full  and  who- 
ever will,  may,  with  the  key  of  effort,  unlock  the  door 
and  take  out  thoughts  and  crystalize  them  for  the  benefit 
of  humanity.  Knowledge  is  like  the  honey  in  the  flower, 
the  industrious  bee  gathers  and  stores  it  away  for  a  useful 
purpose;  but  the  drone,  or  idle  bee,  is  always  sponging 
its  living.  So  it  will  be  with  humankind. 

We  pay  lots  of  money  for  schools,  but  we  are  certain  to 
get  good  returns  from  some,  in  good  citizenship  and  ad- 
vancement in  thought.  Let  us  encourage  the  schools,  as 
one  of  the  safeguards  of  our  independence. 

Civic  Societies 

The  first  church  organized  in  Lovington  township  was 
14 


REMINISCENCES  «f  ^  FORTY-NINER 

the  Christian  church,  by  Abram  Kellar,  probably  at  his 
home,  between  1832  and  1837,  the  exact  date  I  do  not 
know.  Mr.  Kellar  was  from  Kentucky,  and  most  of  the 
early  settlers  who  located  around  him  were  also  from 
Kentucky,  and  they  were  nearly  all  members  of  the  Chris- 
tian church.  I  do  not  know  whether  Abram  Kellar  was 
a  minister  or  not,  but  he  was  a  good  Christian  man  and 
deemed  it  wise  to  organize  the  people  and  have  public 
worship.  He  had  two  sons  who  were  ministers,  one  of 
whom  is  now  living  in  California.  (Dr.  A.  L.  Kellar, 
since  deceased.) 

After  a  few  years,  in  about  1845,  they  erected  a  church 
house  on  the  lands  belonging  to  Mr.  Kellar  and  where 
the  cemetery  is  now  located,  just  west  of  the  lot  occupied 
by  the  Shepherd  mausoleum.  The  house  was  used  for  a 
long  time  for  a  church  house  exclusively.  A  large  con- 
gregation grew  up,  with  a  regular  minister  and  church 
almost  every  Sunday.  About  1865  the  congregation  built 
a  house  of  worship  in  Lovington  and  the  old  church  was 
abandoned.  It  was  then  repaired  and  used  for  a  school 
house  for  many  years,  when  it  finally  disappeared. 

The  congregation  at  Lovington  has  continued  to  prosper, 
notwithstanding  some  dissensions  about  instrumental 
music,  and  a  few  years  ago  they  built  a  new  modern  church 
house,  in  which  the  good  people  of  that  church  continue 
to  meet  and  worship  God.  Beginning  in  1837  with  a  few 
members,  possibly  not  more  than  a  dozen,  they  now  have 
a  large  roll  of  members  here  and  a  much  larger  one  in  the 
Better  Land.  Eternity  alone  will  reveal  the  good  that 
has  been  accomplished  by  the  drawing  together  of  the  lit- 
tle band  of  Christian  men  and  women  in  the  early  days  of 
the  history  of  the  township,  and  still  it  will  continue  as 

15 


REMINISCENCES  *r  *  FORTY-NINER 

long  as  time  shall  last.  Some  man  of  God  will  be  pressing 
the  truth  upon  the  minds  of  each  generation  until  time 
shall  be  no  more. 

From  1824  to  1831  this  part  of  Illinois  was  called  a  mis- 
sionary field,  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Baker  of  the  M.  E. 
church,  and  preaching  was  usually  done  in  the  cabins  of 
the  pioneers.  About  1831  Mbultrie  county  was  a  part  of 
the  Shelbyville  circuit,  but  the  north  part  of  the  county 
was  in  the  Danville  or  Vermilion  circuit.  There  was  not 
much  preaching  in  the  north  part  of  the  county,  as  there 
were  but  few  settlers  until  about  1845,  when  Hiram  Buck 
was  appointed  junior  preacher  on  the  Danville  circuit. 
Then  Buck  and  his  senior,  Rev.  Fairbanks,  would  stop  on 
their  way  from  Danville  and  once  a  month  they  would 
preach  in  some  cabin;  often  at  the  home  of  George 
Hewitt.  It  was  at  his  house,  in  about  1848.  the  first  class 
of  Methodists  were  organized.  The  Mormons  had  preach- 
ed all  through  the  neighborhood  and  proselyted  a  few, 
who  had  been  members  of  other  churches  before  they 
came  to  this  state,  but  they  did  not  attempt  to  build  a 
church.  If  I  had  the  old  church  records,  I  could  give  the 
names  of  the  members  of  the  first  class,  but  as  I  do  not 
have  it,  I  will  give  the  names  of  the  families. 

George  Hewitt  was  the  first  class  leader;  John  Foster  led 
the  singing,  and  the  Porters.  Howells,  Alexander  Coch- 
ran.  Jacob  Murphy.  John  Foster.  Sr.,  and  his  wife,  Ellenor, 
and  one  woman  that  I  know  of.  Aunt  Betsy  Cochran,  yes, 
and  Lucinda  Foster,  her  daughter,  were  the  members. 
There  may  have  been  others,  but  these  are  all  than  I  can 
remember  as  being  members  when  I  came  here  in  1849. 
The  meetings  were  held  in  the  school  house  after  it  was 
erected,  and  when  they  had  quarterly  meeting  it  was 

16 


REMINISCENCES  «j  ^  FORTY-NINER 

usually  held  in  the  grove.  The  people  came  from  far  and 
near,  and  there  was  no  hurry  about  having  the  services 
over  to  get  home  to  cook  dinner,  for  all  cooking  was  done 
on  Saturday,  and  there  was  a  plenty.  The  preachers  had 
a  message  to  deliver  and  they  delivered  it  to  the  finish 
and  few,  if  any,  went  to  sleep  during  the  hour  and  a  half 
of  its  delivery.  When  they  finally  got  through  and  the 
congregation  was  dismissed,  those  living  close  would  an- 
nounce that  people  from  a  distance  would  find  a  welcome 
and  dinner  and  horse  feed  at  their  house.  My  recollection 
is  that  most  all  from  a  distance  and  some  not  so  distant 
would  readily  accept  the  kind  invitation  to  dinner.  I  have 
seen  as  many  as  fifty  people  at  father's  for  dinner  on  such 
occasions,  and  they  all  got  plenty  to  eat.  I  am  sure  if  we 
could  have  looked  in  at  our  neighbors'  we  could  have 
counted  a  like  number  and  also  plenty.  The  people  would 
drive  ten  and  fifteen  miles  in  a  wagon  or  ride  on  horseback 
and  I  have  seen  ox  teams  at  quarterly  meeting. 

That  class  prospered,  although  they  only  had  preaching 
once  a  month.  They  had  class  meetings  and  Thursday 
night  prayer  meeting.  One  thing  that  I  thought  was  pe- 
culiar, no  one  could  gain  an  entrance  to  class  without  a 
ticket,  and  a  lady  wearing  flowers  or  jewelry  could  not 
be  admitted,  but  that  rule  has  long  since  passed  into 
oblivion. 

After  a  few  years  quite  a  number  who  had  belonged  to 
the  Presbyterian  church  united  with  the  class,  as  there 
was  no  Presbyterian  church  near  there.  Among  the  num- 
ber were  father's  family,  or  some  of  them  at  least.  About 
that  time  Jonathan  Davis  came  out  from  Kentucky.  He 
had  a  brother  living  near  the  school  house,  in  what  was 
called  "Mote's  Den,"  a  cabin  of  small  dimensions.  Mr. 

17 


REMINISCENCES  *s  ^  FORTY-NINER 

Davis  was  a  Methodist,  a  local  preacher  and  a  singer.  He 
could  preach,  pray  and  sing,  whether  any  one  helped  or  not. 
He  joined  the  class  and  held  a  protracted  meeting  for  some 
time  during  the  winter,  and  quite  a  good  many  of  the  set- 
tlers' children  united  with  the  church.  «  They  could  hardly 
keep  from  it.  Such  sermons  on  the  mercy,  goodness  and 
wrath  of  God  I  had  never  heard  before  nor  since,  and  then 
when  he  would  sing  the  old  Methodist  hymns  one  could 
scarcely  contain  himself.  He  was  the  best  hymn  singer 
I  ever  heard.  Poor  man,  he  was  not  a  success  financially, 
and  had  lots  of  trouble,  but  amid  it  all  he  could  read  his 
title  clear  to  mansions  in  the  skies.  I  have  heard  him  sing, 
accompanied  by  S.  S.  Wood  on  the  bass,  when  I  felt  that 
such  music  could  not  be  duplicated.  Brother  Davis  has 
long  since  gone,  but  the  good  he  did  at  those  meetings 
will  live  on. 

About  that  time,  in  1856,  Julus  Bicknell,  who  was  a  local 
preacher  in  the  Methodist  church,  moved  in  from  Ohio 
and  he  organized  a  Sunday  school,  what  we  called  an 
"evergreen  Sunday  school."  open  winter  and  summer.  The 
school  was  one  of  deep  interest  to  the  community.  It  was 
kept  up  long  after  the  class  moved  their  membership  to 
town.  Mr.  Bicknell  often  preached  for  the  people,  and 
was  an  active  member  of  the  class  until  his  death  only  a 
short  time  ago. 

The  class  continued  to  meet  at  the  Hewitt  school  house 
with  increasing  members  until  1859,  when  the  church 
house  was  built  at  Lovington  and  most  of  its  membership 
was  transferred  to  the  Lovington  class,  or  rather  the 
class  was  transferred  to  Lovington  and  met  in  the  new 
church,  which  was  dedicated  in  the  fall  of  1858.  Soon 
after  the  war  came  on  and  some  went  to  the  war  and  some 

18 


REMINISCENCES  «r  ^  FORTY-NINER 

left  the  church.  During  the  war  the  church  did  not  prosper 
very  well,  but  a  remnant  of  the  membership  kept  up  the 
fight  and  had  many  seasons  of  rejoicing  at  their  class  and 
prayer  meetings.  The  minister,  Rev.  Y.  Heacock,  left  be- 
fore the  end  of  the  year,  and  the  Sullivan  circuit,  of  which 
the  charge  at  Lovington  was  a  part,  was  without  a  preach- 
er for  a  while.  \J^ 

When  the  war  closed,  or  just  before,  while  the  Christian 
people  were  building  their  first  church  house  in  Loving- 
ton,  Elder  Black  came  to  hold  a  protracted  meeting  and 
the  M.  E.  people  let  them  have  the  church  to  hold  this 
meeting  in.  A  great  many  joined  the  Christian  church 
during  that  meeting,  and  that  spurred  the  M'ethodist  peo- 
ple again,  and  in  1866  Rev.  Lapham  Truman  (not  John) 
held  a  meeting  and  about  sixty  persons  professed  and  unit- 
ed with  the  church.  It  was  the  centenary  year  of  the  church, 
and  six  months  afterwards  forty-two  of  us  were  taken  into 
full  connection,  many  of  whom  have  gone  Home.  A  few 
went  back,  but  most  of  the  class  have  proven  faithful. 
One  or  two  are  preachers  and  have  served  in  the  Illinois 
conference.  Brother  Joseph  Funston  is  still  laboring  in 
Kansas,  Joseph  Martin  has  retired  to  his  farm  and  a  good 
many  have  moved  to  other  places,  but  are  still  faithful. 

In  1869  Lovington  circuit  was  set  off  from  Sullivan  and 
John  W.  Lapham  was  appointed  to  the  circuit.  After  a 
few  years  it  was  made  a  station  and  it  soon  became  ap- 
parent that  we  would  need  a  new  house  of  worship.  The 
matter  was  not  agitated  very  strongly  until  1893,  when 
the  present  beautiful  church  was  erected  and  dedicated  by 
Bishop  Moore  and  the  old  building  was  sold.  And  now, 
with  a  new  church,  a  new  preacher  and  a  new  congrega- 
tion, the  good  work  goes  on. 

19 


REMINISCENCES  *r  *  FORTY-NINER 

There  is  but  one  of  that  original  class  now  living,  Uncle 
John  Foster,  who  is  in  his  ninety-second  year,  and  who 
was  once  an  active  working  member.  Still  rejoicing  in 
hope,  but  weak  in  body,  he  is  able  to  sing: 

"Children  of  the  Heavenly  King, 
As  we  journey,  let  us  sing." 

Time  waits  not  for  man,  but  rushes  him  on  from  year 
to  year. 

This  sketch  would  not  be  complete  without  a  word  about 
some  of  the  members  who  have  gone  Home.  Uncle  John 
Cochran  was  a  steward  in  the  church,  with  a  life  tenure. 
He  was  the  best  collecting  steward  I  have  ever  known. 
Faithful  as  any  one  could  be,  his  influence  will  live  a  long 
time.  Aunt  Susan  Cochran,  his  wife,  was  a  noble  Christian 
woman.  I  will  always  remember  the  testimony  of  Aunt 
Betsy  Cochran,  who  always  gave  it  at  class.  There  are 
also  some  yet  living  who  have  had  a  good  influence,  but 
I  refrain  from  mentioning  the  living. 

Of  the  first  members  that  were  faithful  was  George 
Hewitt.  Alex  Porter,  Andrew  Cochran  and  the  members 
of  their  families,  and  others  whom  I  have  forgotten.  No 
one  can  ever  forget  "Grandma"  Foster,  who  with  Irish 
zeal  and  Christian  grace  was  instant  in  prayer  and  praise 
for  her  many  blessings. 

I  could  write  many  more  pages,  but  I  will  weary  your 
readers  and  spoil  the  reputation  of  your  paper.  My  hope 
is  that  the  Lord  will  bless  the  efforts  of  the  present  mem- 
bership and  that  a  good  many  follow  them  to  the  next 
generation. 

Later  on  the  Advents  organized  and  built  a  church  house 
and  now  have  a  regular  pastor,  and  also  the  F.  M.  church 
have  a  good  church  house  and  a  good  congregation  with 


REMINISCENCES  «r  ^  FORTY-NINER 

a   regular  pastor.     So   that  the  people   are  well   supplied 
with  church  privileges. 

When  Lovington  Was  Young 

In  the  beginning  the  village  of  Lovington  was  without 
form  and  void.  Its  streets  were  traversed  by  the  covered 
wagons  of  the  pioneers  going  west,  and  the  disappointed 
returning  to  the  east.  Its  parks  were  inhabited  only  by  the 
prairie  chicken  and  other  wild  fowls,  and  the  lakes  by  the 
ever-present  frog. 

The  first  improvement  was  a  tavern  and  barn,  called 
the  "Black  Horse  Tavern,"  built  by  the  Snyders,  who  were 
from  Kentucky.  They  kept  refreshments  for  man  and 
beast.  The  house  was  built  about  1840  and  stood  a  little 
south  and  east  of  where  the  Maple  hotel  now  stands.  The 
well  is  still  in  use.  I  believe  the  place  was  known  all 
the  way  from  Dayton,  Ohio,  west  as  far  as  travelers  had 
gone.  The  sign  was  a  black  horse  painted  on  a  board, 
suspended  from  a  pole  some  twenty  feet  high.  That  was 
the  only  improvement  until  1849.  when  Jonathan  Tiffen, 
commonly  called  Jackey  TifTen,  built  a  log  house  where 
Mr.  Wilt  now  lives.  That  was  built  late  in  1849  and  about 
that  time  a  man  by  the  name  of  Spore  (who  was  usually 
called  Spud)  erected  a  small  building  just  east  of  where 
Peter  Lux  now  lives,  about  where  the  street  runs  north 
from  Foster's  livery  stable.  Spore  kept  a  small  store,  a 
general  stock,  including  liquor.  He  did  not  remain  very 
long  until  Stephen  Cannon  bought  him  out  and  moved  the 
store  down  into  a  building  he  had  erected  on  the  corner  of 
the  lot  where  Byron  Cheever  now  lives.  Cannon  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  and  the  town  and  postoffice  were  called 
Lovington  in  honor  of  John  and  Andrew  Love,  who  had 

21 


REMINISCENCES  *f  ^  FORTY-NINER 

settled  a  little  west  of  that  point  and  kept  the  first  post 
office  at  their  home.  I  think  the  name  was  given  to  the 
town  about  the  year  1852,  possibly  a  year  or  two  earlier. 
as  events  of  that  period  succeeded  each  other  pretty  fast. 
The  country  was  filling  up  rapidly  and  hundreds  of  cov- 
ered wagons  would  pass  along  on  the  Springfield  road 
each  week. 

About  that  year  Green  and  Taylor,  who  had  bought  the 
tavern  and  land  connected  with  it  laid  off  a  tier  of  lots, 
about  three  blocks  on  the  south  side  of  the  Springfield 
road,  now  called  State  street.  In  a  few  years  there  were 
quite  a  number  of  houses  built  in  the  village.  A  doctor, 
a  blacksmith  and  wagon  maker  and  an  auctioneer  had 
settled  in  the  village.  In  1858  there  was  a  population  of 
probably  two  hundred  inhabitants.  In  that  year  the  M.  E. 
church  house  was  built  and  a  school  house,  in  which  they 
had  preaching  and  Sunday  school,  called  a  Union  school. 
There  were  a  few  business  houses  and  one  or  two  rather 
good  dwelling  houses  for  that  day. 

All  the  goods,  lumber  and  all  building  material  had  to 
be  hauled  from  Arcola  by  wagons.  Capt.  Gregory  and 
Andrew  Foster  and  John  Cochran  ran  a  very  good  store 
from  about  1858  to  1862.  As  the  people  accumulated,  the 
saloon  began  to  flourish  and  Zink  Wymer,  with  his  broth- 
ers-in-law, the  Simes  boys,  started  a  saloon  on  the  corner 
where  the  pumping  works  now  stand,  and  Arch  Thayer 
opened  up  in  a  building  that  stood  where  the  Foster  livery 
stable  is  now.  So  one  could  get  drinks  at  two  different 
saloons  within  one  hundred  feet  of  each  other  in  a  village 
of  less  than  three  hundred  people. 

22 


REMINISCENCES  o/  ^  FORTY-NINER 
John  Barley  Corn  Routed 

A  few  years  later  the  women  put  the  saloons  out  of 
business,  by  organization — a  Carrie  Nation  Club,  as  we 
would  call  it  now.  They  marched  across  from  the  north 
side  of  the  street  in  good  order,  well  armed  and  rolled  the 
barrels  of  whisky  to  the  door  of  the  saloon,  knocked  the 
heads  in  and  poured  the  contents  into  the  gutter  at  the 
side  of  the  street.  Two  old  topers  looked  at  the  red  liquid 
for  a  few  moments  and  one  said  to  the  other,  "It's  too 
bad  to  waste  all  that  good  liquor."  And  they  got  down  on 
their  knees  and  drank  of  the  liquor  as  it  flowed  westward 
in  the  ditch  at  the  side  of  the  street.  That  was  long  before 
Carrie  Nation  was  heard  of.  Several  of  these  women  are 
living  yet.  I  could  give  all  their  names,  but  it  might  get 
me  into  trouble  if  I  did.  The  saloons  soon  received  an- 
other lot  of  the  same  kind  of  goods  and  resumed  business 
as  before.  They  did  not  have  a  license  law  then,  hence 
all  they  took  in  was  profit,  less  the  cost  of  the  goods  and 
expenses  of  the  business,  which  was  very  small  compared 
with  the  profits^ 

^War  Times  in  Lovington 

When  the  war  broke  out  in  1861,  there  was  great  excite- 
ment. The  town  did  not  grow  very  much  during  the  five 
years  of  war.  The  only  means  the  people  of  the  village 
had  of  keeping  posted  as  to  the  events  of  the  war  was  to 
send  to  Arcola  each  day  for  a  daily  paper.  James  A. 
Gregory  and  John  A.  Foster  would  each  take  a  day  about 
riding  to  Arcola  on  horseback  and  bring  the  Chicago  paper 
out.  As  the  Illinois  Central  did  not  run  fast  trains  then 
it  would  be  four  o'clock  or  later  before  they  could  get 

23 


REMINISCENCES  *f  *  FORTY-NINER 

the  paper  to  start  home  with  it  and  often,  when  the  roads 
were  bad,  it  would  be  late  at  night  before  the  paper  would 
arrive.  But  the  people  would  wait  at  the  store  until  the 
paper  came  and  Dr.  Cheever  or  Capt.  Gregory  would  stand 
up  on  the  counter  in  the  store  and  read  the  war  news. 
There  would  usually  be  one  or  more  from  each  family  in 
the  town  and  neighborhood  present  to  carry  the  news 
home  to  the  family.  I  remember  in  February,  1862.  after 
the  battle  of  Crab  Orchard  in  Kentucky,  the  news  came 
that  the  Union  army  had  gained  a  great  victory  and  had 
killed  the  Rebel  General,  Zollicoffer.  I  thought  the  war 
was  over,  as  I  supposed  they  had  only  one  general  and  now 
that  he  was  killed  certainly  the  war  would  end.  I  started 
home  afoot  repeating  the  name  of  the  general  killed,  so 
that  I  would  not  forget  it  and  could  tell  the  folks  at  home 
who  it  was  that  our  army  had  slain,  and  I  have  never  for- 
gotten that  general's  name. 

The  war  was  not  over,  as  I  soon  found  out.  Several 
had  already  gone  into  the  army.  Captain  Love  had  re- 
cruited a  company  from  this  county  and  a  few  from  Lov- 
ington  went  into  his  company — S.  S.  Boggs,  your  present 
mayor  and  one  or  two  more.  That  was  Co.  E.  of  the  21st 
Illinois.  Grant's  regiment.  Some  had  joined  Captain  Lee's 
company  in  the  41st  Illinois  and  Captain  Thayer  and  oth- 
ers joined  Company  B  of  the  5th  Illinois  cavalry.  James 
A.  Gregory  went  out  to  hunt  his  father's  cows  and  did  not 
return  for  three  years.  He  enlisted  at  Cairo  in  company 
H.  62d  Illinois  infantry. 

In  the  summer  of  1862,  when  President  Lincoln  called 
for  three  hundred  thousand  volunteers,  quite  a  number  of 
the  boys  from  Lovington  enlisted  in  company  A,  126th 
regiment  Illinois  infantry  for  three  years.  On  July  31st, 

24 


REMINISCENCES  *f  ^  FORTY-NINER 

the  people  gave  a  dinner  in  the  grove  west  of  town  to  all 
soldiers  who  then  enlisted  and  about  forty  of  us  were 
sworn  in  by  Andrew  Cochran,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
on  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  August  we  all  met  in  Loving- 
ton  to  go  to  camp  at  Mattoon.  Farmers  came  in  with 
their  wagons  to  haul  us  to  Mattoon.  Mothers,  sisters, 
wives  and  others  were  there  to  say  good-by  and  to  some, 
it  was  the  last  good-by;  their  bodies  lie  buried  in  the  sands 
of  the  south.  But  it  was  a  grand  sight  to  us,  who  had 
never  been  very  far  from  home  before,  when  we  looked 
back  and  beheld  the  large  company  of  our  friends  waving 
us  adieu  as  we  drove  south  on  our  way  to  Sullivan  and  on 
to  Mattoon.  Time  has  not  even  dimmed  the  vision  and  I 
could  name  scores  of  those  who  cheered  us  as  we  waved 
the  flag  and  beat  the  drum  and  pledged  eternal  vigilance 
as  the  price  of  Liberty. 

Reconstruction  Days 

When  we  came  back  after  three  years,  the  town  had  not 
grown  very  much,  in  fact,  I  don't  believe  there  was  a 
house  built  in  town  during  that  three  years.  Some  of  the 
people  had  grown  and  some  had  moved  in  from  the  east, 
some  had  moved  away,  but  the  population  in  1864  was 
about  the  same  as  it  was  in  I860,  in  fact  the  country  went 
back.  Fields  were  left  uncultivated,  fences  were  down  for 
want  of  laborers.  The  young  men  and  middle-aged  men 
had  been  gone  three  years.  I  see  I  must  stop  and  finish 
this  subject  in  another  article,  as  I  am  not  near  through 
with  it. 

It  did  not  take  long  for  the  soldier  to  find  his  place 
where  he  left  off  when  he  went  into  the  army;  and  in  field, 
business,  home  and  school  room,  the  hand  that  had  wield- 

25 


REMINISCENCES  o/  *  FORTY-NINER 

ed  the  gun  was  ready  to  work  again  about  as  it  had  been 
when  the  flag  was  fired  upon.  Lovington  township,  like 
the  most  of  the  county,  has  been  fortunate.  Crops  have 
usually  been  good,  corn,  wheat  and  'oats  being  the  leading 
products,  with  cattle,  hogs  and  horses  as  the  principal 
stock  industries.  There  has  never  been  a  failure  in  crops. 
In  1858,  the  wet  year,  when  it  rained  forty  days  and  corn 
planting  was  delayed  until  the  last  of  June  and  the  first 
of  July,  the  crop  was  not  very  abundant  and  did  not  ma- 
ture very  well,  but  the  people  had  enough  and  some  to 
spare.  And  again  in  1863,  on  August  27,  a  heavy  frost 
killed  most  all  the  corn  and  made  seed  corn  very  scarce, 
yet  they  got  along  very  well. 

The  severe  storms  have  avoided  the  locality,  and  there 
have  been  but  few  epidemics  that  have  taken  off  the  peo- 
ple. In  1855  we  had  the  cholera,  but  only  a  few  persons 
died  with  it;  hence.  I  conclude  that  we  have  been  excep- 
tionally fortunate. 

Few  Crimes  Committed 

Five  persons  have  been  indicted  and  tried  for  murder. 
One  of  them  is  now  in  the  penitentiary,  and  one  other  in- 
dicted, who  has  not  yet  been  tried.  Even  that  is  not  as 
bad  as  some  large  cities,  but  it  would  be  better  if  we 
could  say,  as  Marrowbone  township,  that  there  had  never 
been  but  one  murder  case  from  the  township.  Of  the  six 
cases  most,  if  not  all  of  them,  were  caused  by  whisky  and 
usually  by  the  licensed  saloon,  which  Marrowbone  town- 
ship has  never  had,  if  I  remember  correctly.  But  the  peo- 
ple of  Lovington  township,  as  a  rule,  are  good  people,  and 
have  always  protested  against  the  sale  of  liquor. 

26 


REMINISCENCES  *f  ^  FORTY-NINER 
Politics 

In  politics,  the  township  has  usually  been  Democratic. 
yet  very  many  good  men  of  both  parties  have  been  hon- 
ored by  the  voters.  Alexander  Porter,  James  A.  Gregory, 
S.  P.  Drake,  Robert  Selby,  B.  N.  McMullin  and  others  have 
been  chosen  supervisors  at  different  times.  Stephen  Can- 
non was  association  county  judge  at  one  time,  and  also  a 
member  of  the  legislature.  Arnold  Thomason  was  county 
judge  for  a  good  many  years  and  also  served  one  term  in 
the  legislature.  H.  M.  Minor  was  county  judge  one  term. 
M.  R.  Davidson,  who  lived  in  Lovington  for  a  while,  was 
elected  county  judge  in  Piatt  county  after  he  moved  up 
there.  Martin  Neilan,  who  was  raised  in  the  township, 
went  to  Sioux  City,  Iowa,  became  a  lawyer  and  served 
as  city  judge  of  Sioux  City,  and  has  now  retired  on  a  com- 
petency. O.  T.  Atchison  and  Thos.  McDaniel  also  served 
one  term  each  in  the  Illinois  legislature.  S.  T.  Foster  and 
A.  E.  Foster  each  served  a  term  as  sheriff.  Art  Lux  is 
now  state's  attorney.  There  may  be  some  that  I  have  for- 
gotten, who  have  risen  to  places  of  honor  and  trust  by 
the  energy  imbibed  in  the  atmosphere  of  that  rural  retreat. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  environments  have  not  been 
such  as  to  keep  out  the  spirit  of  hope  and  determination 
among  the  dwellers  of  that  small  part  of  the  globe. 

Material  Growth 

The  business  interests  have  been  productive  of  activity. 
It  would  be  enjoyable  to  name  all  who  have  engaged  in 
business  from  time  to  time  in  Lovington.  It  began  with 
Sport,  or  Spud,  as  he  was  called,  and  ends  with  your  pres- 
ent wide-awake,  up-to-date  merchants  and  business  men. 

27 


REMINISCENCES  «F  ^  FORTY-NINER 

At  one  time,  from  about  1874  to  1879.  there  were  several 
general  stores  carrying  large  stocks  of  goods.  Dixon 
&  Bishop,  Foster  &  Gregory,  Bishop  &  Stout  and  others 
had  very  full  and  complete  stocks  of  goods,  but  I  believe 
that  L.  H.  Pollard  is  the  only  man  in  business  there  now 
who  was  in  business  on  January  1,  1873,  when  I  moved  to 
Lovington  from  the  country.  The  rest  have  gone  out  of 
business  or  moved  away.  It  has  always  been  a  good  town 
for  trade,  because  it  is  surrounded  by  a  fine  agricultural 
community,  but  few  of  the  business  men  have  ever  grown 
rich.  All.  or  most  all,  have  done  very  well,  but  to  become 
rich  in  a  mercantile  business  you  must  have  more  custom- 
ers than  a  sparsely  settled  community  or  a  small  village 
furnishes.  The  men  who  have  become  rich  in  Lovington 
township  are  the  farmers.  I  can  count  at  least  a  dozen 
now  who  have  accumulated  fifty  thousand  dollars  and  over 
in  the  last  forty  years,  and  each  one  of  them  began  life 
as  a  poor  man,  none  having  inherited  large  amounts  of 
money.  There  is  but  one  way  to  get  rich  in  land,  that  is 
to  buy  when  cheap  and  hold  it.  I  have  seen  land  in  that 
township  go  from  two  dollars  and  a  half  per  acre  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  or  almost  whatever  you  will 
ask  for  it.  and  that  within  fifty-five  years. 

Not  only  has  the  land  increased  in  value,  but  the  power 
of  production  has  been  increased  by  tiling  out  the  ponds 
and  low  places.  At  first  it  was  very  difficult  to  farm  more 
than  one-half  or  two-thirds  of  a  piece  of  land  on  account 
of  the  wet  places.  The  improvements  are  much  better, 
the  old  log  house  has  given  way  to  good  frame  dwellings, 
and  the  straw-covered  shed  to  go  ,d  barns  for  horses  and 
cattle.  In  the  village  the  mud  sidewalks  have  been  cov- 

28 


REMINISCENCES  «f  ^  FORTY-NINER 

ered  up  first  with  board  walks,  but  in  the  last  few  years 
concrete  and  brick  walks  are  seen  almost  all  over  town. 
The  old  frame  business  houses  are  fast  disappearing,  and 
already  many  good  and  substantial  brick  business  build- 
ings are  in  use.  Electric  lights  have  taken  the  place  of 
the  tallow  candle  of  fifty  years  ago.  A  good  telephone 
system  is  in  operation  not  only  in  the  town  but  all  over 
the  county,  and  every  day  except  Sunday  five  men  start 
out  in  as  many  different  directions,  taking  the  mail  to  the 
farmers,  so  that  each  day  he  can  tell  just  what  his  farm 
products  are  worth  in  the  market. 

You  have  voted  license  out.  and  I  hope  you  will  keep 
them  out,  because  you  don't  need  them.  You  have  voted 
for  a  township  high  school,  which  shows  your  good  judg- 
ment and  will  be  a  lasting  blessing  to  generation  yet  to 
come;  if  there  are  any  unpleasant  things  don't  think  about 
them.  We  are  admonished  to  think  of  the  good  things 
and  appropriate  them  to  our  use.  but  there  are  other  in- 
terests that  I  will  have  to  mention  in  my  next  and  last 
article. 

More  Recent  History 

Heretofore  I  have  spoken  mostly  of  the  early  days,  and 
have  only  glanced  at  the  last  period  of  the  history  of  Lov- 
ington  township  and  village. 

The  name  was  given  first  to  the  .postoffice  in  honor  of 
John  and  Andrew  Love.  The  former  became  a  captain  in 
Grant's  regiment,  the  21st  Illinois  Infantry,  in  the  Civil 
war,  and  after  his  return  from  the  the  army  he  lived  up  in 
Woodford  county  for  a  while  and  then  moved  to  near 
Hammond.  Illinois,  wht~e  he  bought  a  large  tract  of  land, 
and  lived  there  until  the  time  of  his  death,  some  ten  years 

29 


REMINISCENCES  «f  a,  FORTY-NINER 

ago.  Andrew  Love  joined  the  Mormons  and  went  west 
with  them  in  1848  and  finally  located  in  Salt  Lake  City, 
where  he  resided  until  his  death. 

Captain  John  Love  was  regarded  as  a  good,  conscien- 
tious man.  He  was  long  a  leading  member  of  the  Chris- 
tian church,  and  was  very  liberal  towards  the  cause  of 
Christianity.  They  lived  just  west  of  town  on  what  was 
later  called  the  Hogland  farm,  now  owned  by  some  of  the 
Clores.  The  house  was  on  the  north  side  of  the  Spring- 
field road,  just  west  of  where  the  house  of  J.  H.  Wood  now 
stands  and.  as  I  have  said,  the  first  postofHce  was  kept  by 
them  in  that  house.  Hence,  the  name  of  Lovington  orig- 
inated in  honor  of  the  Love  family. 

The  first  public  highway  established  in  the  township 
was  the  Springfield  road,  extending  from  Terre  Haute, 
Indiana,  to  Springfield,  111.  It  was  laid  out  in  1825  by  three 
commissioners  appointed  by  the  governor.  A  Mr.  Craig 
from  Coles  county  and  Jacob  Hausel  of  Edgar  county 
were  two  of  the  commissioners,  the  other  I  do  not  know. 
Jacob  Hausel  was  the  grandfather  of  Jacob  Dumond.  now 
of  Sullivan.  He  died  when  about  80  years  old.  Mr.  Du- 
mond has  an  enlarged  picture  of  Mr.  Hausel,  taken  when 
he  was  about  sixty-five  years  old.  I  have  examined  the 
picture  as  it  hangs  in  Mr.  Dumond's  parlor.  The  com- 
missioners traveled  on  horseback  and  selected  the  route 
on  the  highest  grounds  possible,  keeping  in  the  direction 
of  Springfield,  but  paid  no  attention  to  lines.  They  camped 
out  of  nights,  having  their  provisions  and  camping  outfit 
hauled  along  in  wagons.  They  were  engaged  about  three 
months  in  establishing  the  road,  which  may  explain  the 
practice  now  in  use  and  the  expenses  of  the  highway 
commissioners  in  laying  out  roads. 

30 


REMINISCENCES  &  ^  FORTY-NINER 

The  postoffice  has  moved  up  and  down  the  Springfield 
road  from  that  point  as  far  east  as  the  Dixon  restaurant 
building.  The  postmasters  have  been,  as  far  as  I  can  re- 
member, Stephen  Cannon,  Elijah  Wingate,  Martin  Wood, 
Captain  Linegar,  C.  M.  Hamilton.  W.  C.  Foster,  Mr.  Thay- 
er,  Robert  Selby.  John  H.  Gailey,  John  H.  Williams,  W. 
H.  Atchison,  James  A.  Gregory  and  Charley  Gregory,  the 
present  postmaster.  There  were  others,  but  their  names 
have  escaped  me. 

Early  Religious  Spirit 

Lovington  has  always  been  a  good  town  for  societies, 
the  oldest  of  which  is  the  Masonic  Lodge,  chartered  in 
1856.  It  was  organized  in  1855  under  a  dispensation,  the 
exact  date  I  cannot  give.  John  Bradley,  a  cabinet  maker, 
was  the  moving  spirit  in  the  organization  of  the  lodge.  He 
was  a  Mason  when  he  came  here  from  Pennsylvania.  The 
lodge  first  met  in  his  shop,  later  they  met  in  the  old  school 
house,  and  finally  they  rented  a  hall  of  Elijah  Wingate,  and 
then  of  M.  T.  Shepherd.  About  1870  the  lodge  joined 
with  Andrew  Foster  and  built  a  hall,  just  across  the  street 
north  of  Foster's  livery  stable,  where  they  held  their 
meetings  for  a  long  time,  and  now  they  hold  their  meetings 
in  a  hall  in  the  brick  building  on  the  south  side  of  State 
street. 

The  next  society  organized  was  the  Odd  Fellows,  the 
date  of  which  I  do  not  know,  but  it  is  very  much  more 
recent  than  the  Masonic  Lodge.  They  have  a  very  good 
membership.  The  Rebekahs  also  have  a  lodge.  In  all,  I 
believe  there  are  about  seven  or  eight  lodges,  or  different 
secret  societies,  in  the  town.  The  population  is  now  over 
one  thousand. 


REMINISCENCES  o/  *  FORTY-NINER 

The  Grand  Army  post,  a  society  composed  of  men  who 
served  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil  war,  and  who 
were  honorably  discharged  therefrom,  was  organized  at 
Lovington  in  1875  or  1876.  There  is  no  distinction  of  rank, 
religion,  wealth  or  politics  in  the  Grand  Army.  Its  mem- 
bers are  growing  less  every  day.  When  the  post  was  or- 
ganized there  was  a  large  membership,  just  how  many  I 
do  not  now  remember,  but  possibly  fifty  or  sixty.  Now 
there  are  but  few  left,  and  soon  all  will  be  gone.  The 
teachings  of  this  society  or  post  are  patriotism  and  loy- 
alty. Each  year  they  meet  on  May  30  and  decorate  the 
graves  of  their  departed  comrades  with  beautiful  flowers, 
and  they  are  always  assisted  by  the  patriotic  people  of  the 
village  and  surrounding  country.  When  all  the  old  soldiers 
are  gone,  the  organization  of  the  G.  A.  R.  will  cease  to  ex- 
ist and  the  record  will  be  closed,  never  to  be  opened  again. 
It  is  the  first  organization  of  its  kind  and  will  be  the  last. 
Others  similar  may  come  into  existence,  but  they  cannot 
be  like  this,  because  all  its  members  are  veterans  of  our 
Civil  war.  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union  and  the  free- 
dom of  a  race  of  slaves.  There  can  be  no  other  Lincoln, 
Grant.  Sherman  and  Logan  and  no  such  an  army  as  they 
commanded.  The  teaching  of  patriotism  and  love  for  the 
old  flag  have  received  a  mighty  uplift  by  this  loyal  organ- 
ization of  old  soldiers.  In  the  schools,  they  teach  the 
young  to  repeat:  "I  give  my  head  and  heart  to  God  and 
my  country.  One  country;  one  languege;  one  flag." 

There  are  enough  lodges  in  Lovington  to  please  all 
lovers  of  societies.  All  of  them  have  many  good  tenets 
and  teach  good  morals,  and  some  have  a  benefit  feature, 
as  well  as  an  insurance  feature,  whereby  much  help  may 
be  given  to  those  who  may  be  needy. 

32 


REMINISCENCES  «f  *  FORTY-NINER 
Financial  Institutions 

The  first  bank  establishing  in  Lovington  was  the  Mer- 
chants and  Farmers  Bank.  S.  H.  Morrell  of  Sullivan  was 
the  proprietor  and  Z.  T.  Banks  was  cashier  and  manager. 
The  bank  was  started  about  1874  and  did  a  good  business 
for  a  few  years,  but  on  January  1.  1884,  it  came  to  grief 
and  was  closed  out  by  Mr.  Morrell  making  an  assign- 
ment. The  cause  of  the  failure  was  speculating  on  the 
Board  of  Trade  in  Chicago  by  the  cashier. 

In  January,  1884,  the  Lovington  bank  commenced  doing 
business.  L.  H.  Pollard  was  the  cashier  and  it  continued 
for  over  three  years,  when  the  bank  was  sold  to  Messrs. 
Drake  and  Smith,  on  November  1,  1887.  who  consolidated 
it  with  the  Hardware  bank,  which  they  had  started  in  1885 
or  1886,  and  which  is  still  in  operation,  owned  by  Drake 
and  Hostetler,  and  doing  a  good  business.  Mr.  M.  T. 
Shepherd  did  a  private  banking  business  for  a  number  of 
years  and  in  1900  he.  together  with  others  of  his  family, 
organized  the  Shepherd  National  bank  with  $25.000.00 
capital.  It  was  the  first  national  bank  organized  in  the 
town  and  is  still  in  operation  under  the  management  of 
his  sons,  and  is  doing  a  good  business.  These  facts  are 
generally  known  to  all  your  readers,  but  fifty  years  from 
now  some  careful  person  will  be  able  to  produce  a  copy  of 
your  paper  and  the  facts  here  stated  will  be  history  to  the 
men  doing  business  in  Lovington.  We  will  all  be  gone, 
but  the  cold  type,  if  preserved,  will  still  live.  There  is 
more  money  now  in  the  banks  of  Lovington  than  there 
was  in  all  the  banks  of  Moultrie  county  twenty  years  ago. 

There  are  about  fifty  sections  of  land  in  Lovington 
township,  about  thirty-eight  in  township  fifteen  and  twelve 

33 


REMINISCENCES  *f  *  FORTY-NINER 

in  township  fourteen,  range  five,  making  about  32.000 
acres,  worth  on  the  average  about  $100.00  per  acre,  making 
the  value  of  real  estate  $3,200,000.  The  value  of  town  lots, 
merchandise,  moneys,  credits  and  personal  property  is 
about  $900,000,  making  the  total  wealth  of  the  township 
$4,100,000.  Fifty  years  ago,  the  same  real  eastate,  with 
their  improvements,  could  have  been  bought  for  one-tenth 
of  its  present  value.  The  personal  property  has  been  the 
accumulation  of  the  years.  The  tax  of  the  township  for 
all  purposes  last  year,  including  court  house  tax,  was  $27,- 
479.19,  and  it  was  all  paid  to  the  township  collector  except 
$2.646.95,  which  shows  that  the  people  are  in  good  finan- 
cial condition.  Perhaps  the  largest  item  of  the  tax  is 
school  tax,  which  is  expended  at  home,  as  is  also  the  town- 
ship and  road  and  bridge  tax.  Local  government  is  al- 
ways expensive,  but  it  is  the  best  government  man  has 
yet  devised,  and  as  time  goes  on  it  will  be  found  to  in- 
crease in  importance  and  perfection. 

Retrospective 

When  one  looks  back  over  the  past  and  views  lost  op- 
portunities, he  cannot  help  but  have  some  regrets.  Any 
one  who,  fifty,  or  even  thirty  years  ago,  had  bought  a 
thousand  acres  of  that  rich.black  land  on  credit,  and  had 
done  nothing  but  make  it  produce  enough  to  pay  interest, 
expenses  and  taxes  up  to  this  time,  would  now  be  a  rich 
man.  At  least  he  would  not  need  to  worry  about  his  living 
for  the  rest  of  his  days.  And  yet.  who  can  tell  but  what 
the  next  fifty  years  will  bring  as  great  results.  In  1878  I 
said  to  a  man  now  living  in  Champaign,  "This  rich,  black, 
wet  land  will  bring  one  hundred  dollars  per  acre  in  our 
life  time."  He  laughed  at  me.  I  had  no  money  with 

34 


REMINISCENCES  «f  ^  FORTY-NINER 

which  to  make  a  purchase.  There  is  but  one  way  to  get 
rich  in  farming  lands,  that  is  to  buy  and  never  sell,  unless 
you  re-invest  in  lands  again  and  that  soon. 

Perhaps  I  have  said  enough  about  the  commercial  in- 
terests of  that  locality,  except  to  record  the  facts  that  the 
railroad  reached  Lovington  in  the  fall  of  1871  and  the 
winter  of  1871  and  1872.  The  Wabash,  then  called  the 
Bloomington  &  Ohio  River  railroad,  was  built  from  Be- 
ment  on  the  north  and  Windsor  on  the  south.  The  last 
rail  was  laid,  joining  the  two  ends  together  in  Mr.  O.  T. 
Atchison's  field  south  of  Lovington,  on  the  17th  day  of 
March,  1872.  I  was  helping  lay  the  iron;  Frank  Green  was 
engineer  on  the  construction  train;  Andy  Ricketts  was  con- 
ductor, and  Mr.  Philhour,  who  is  now  at  the  Masonic 
home,  was  boss  of  the  construction  gang.  The  Midland, 
now  the  Pennsylvania,  was  built  about  the  same  time. 
John  Bowers  and  Mr.  Hamlin  assisted  in  its  construction. 
For  a  long  time  the  railroads  were  not  much  more  than  a 
right  of  way  and  two  streaks  of  rust.  Mr.  L.  H.  Pollard 
was  the  first  agent  for  the  Wabash.  I  think  he  brought 
the  first  car  of  coal  to  the  town  by  rail  with  a  yoke  of  oxen 
or  a  span  of  mules.  I  don't  remember  which.  That  was  in 
1872,  before  the  road  had  put  on  regular  trains. 

The  people  of  Lovington  township  have  always  been  so- 
cial and  kind.  They  are  always  ready  to  help  those  need- 
ing help.  In  the  early  days,  when  every  family  had  more 
or  less  sickness  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  there  was  always 
plenty  to  come  in  and  help  take  care  of  the  sick.  Trained 
nursing  had  not  come  in  fashion  out  here  and  some  of 
the  best  nurses  were  the  good  women,  who  spent  all 
day  hard  at  work  and  then  would  go  and  sit  up  half  or 
all  the  night,  if  necessary,  with  a  sick  neighbor,  and  the 

35 


REMINISCENCES  *s  ^  FORTY-NINER 

men  would  do  as  much  if  their  neighbors  needed  them.  I 
have  had  occasion  in  later  years  to  be  very  thankful  to 
neighbors  in  Lovington  for  their  kindness  during  times 
of  sickness  and  death,  which  has  always  remained  with  me 
a  debt  of  gratitude  I  cannot  sufficiently  repay. 

Conclusion 

Before  closing  this  article  I  want  to  make  a  correction 
or  two.  I  stated  from  information,  which  I  believed  re- 
liable, that  Mr.  Pea  first  settled  on  a  part  of  the  Wilkinson 
farm.  I  have  since  learned  that  he  settled  further  south 
on  land  that  he  lived  on  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  and 
that  Mr.  Stevens  first  settled  on  the  Wilkinson  farm  in 
1831. 

I  am  also  able  to  give  the  exact  date  of  the  organization 
of  the  first  church  in  the  township.  The  Christian  church 
was  organized  on  November  17.  1832,  at  the  home  of  Mr. 
Stevens.  There  were  twelve  original  members.  Abraham 
Kellar  seems  to  have  been  the  organizer  of  the  congrega- 
tion. 

I  also  want  to  record  the  fact  that  George  Hetherington 
was  one  of  the  active  men  in  the  affairs  of  the  township 
during  most  all  the  time  of  his  residence  there.  He  served 
one  term  as  county  clerk.  S.  P.  Eary  also  served  as  sheriff 
of  the  county.  Col.  Clore.  as  he  was  called,  always  took 
an  active  interest  in  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  vil- 
lage, and  he  added  to  the  territory  by  laying  off  an  addi- 
tion or  two.  Noah  Hostetler  also  helped  in  building  up 
the  town.  John  Rhodes  and  Frank  Porter  were  public 
spirited  men  and  good  farmers.  Elihu  Welton  was  always 
active  in  promoting  the  county  fair  and  the  raising  of 
good  stock.  James  Bennett.  John  Kearney,  the  father  of 

36 


REMINISCENCES  «r  ^  FORTY-NINER 

T.  C.  Kearney,  John  Wood,  Hiram  Cunningham,  Thomas 
Dunn,  Stephen  Turner,  S.  L.  Wood,  T.  C.  Wood.  S.  S. 
Wood,  Cannon  Dawson  and  Joseph  Dawson  were  all  far- 
mers at  an  early  period  in  the  history  of  the  township, 
and  by  their  industry  and  honesty  have  left  a  good  name, 
besides  property,  to  their  children.  They  are  all  gone. 
They  did  not  live  to  see  your  present  prosperity. 

There  is  but  one  more  thing  I  want  to  say  and  my  ef- 
forts will  be  finished,  and  that  is  to  the  young  people. 
Solomon  said,  "Young  man,  get  wisdom,  but  with  all  thy 
getting,  get  understanding."  Isaiah  says,  "Wisdom  is  to 
know  God.  Understanding  is  to  cease  to  do  evil  and  learn 
to  do  good."  Pure  thoughts  will  produce  good  actions 
and  kind  words.  You  should  not  be  discouraged  because 
of  the  failure  of  others,  but  rather  be  stimulated  to  great 
watchfulness  and  thereby  excel  in  purity  of  thought. 

One  reason  there  was  little  crime  among  the  early  set- 
tlers was  the  fact  that  they  had  pure  thoughts  and  talked 
upon  pure  subjects;  hence  they  did  not  need  to  commit 
offences  to  carry  out  their  thoughts.  Criminal  actions  are 
but  the  external  signs  of  inward  evil  thoughts.  The  man 
who  steals  has  thought  upon  that  subject.  The  man  who 
commits  a  crime  has  thought  upon  the  subject  of  his  crime; 
hence  the  sure  way  to  avoid  committing  crime  is  to  banish 
all  such  thoughts  from  your  mind.  If  you  would  permit 
me  to  suggest,  I  would  say,  read  such  books  as  will  help 
you  to  have  good  thoughts.  If  the  mind  is  empty,  evil  will 
fill  the  vacuum  more  readily  than  good.  Then  keep  the 
mind  well  stored  with  good  thoughts  and  you  will  soon 
learn  to  banish  evil.  You  have  many  helps,  the  pulpit, 
Sunday  school,  young  people's  societies,  together  with  a 
great  many  good  books.  All  of  which  are  good  compan- 

37 


REMINISCENCES  «f  ^  FORTY-NINER 

ions  and  much  better  than  evil  persons. 

The  business  of  the  community  will  soon  fall  upon  you 
and  if  you  are  well-prepared,  you  can  take  the  places  of 
your  fathers  and  mothers  and  carry  forward  the  work 
much  better  than  they  have  done  and  be  a  success.  If 
you  are  not  prepared,  you  already  know  what  the  results 
will  be.  Look  around  you  and  see  what  those  have  done 
who  were  not  prepared  to  take  the  place  left  vacant  by 
death  or  old  age,  and  you  can  soon  verify  my  statement. 
Therefore,  I  will  repeat  what  Solomon  said  many  years 
ago  and  no  one  yet  has  said  a  wiser  thing,  so  far  as  I 
know.  Wisdom  is  the  principal  thing.  Therefore,  "Get 
wisdom,  but  with  all  thy  getting,  get  understanding." 

I  must  conclude.  If  you  have  any  subscribers  left  after 
publishing  these  articles  you  will  be  fortunate.  I  must 
ask  your  readers  to  pardon  the  use  of  the  personal  pro- 
noun "I,"  as  it  would  be  impossible  to  write  about  that 
which  is  a  part  of  my  life  history  without  using  it  occas- 
ionally. I  will  have  to  be  like  the  colored  boy  who  re- 
quested the  lawyer  to  write  for  him  a  letter  to  his  girl. 
After  the  lawyer  had  written  what  he  thought  would  be 
suitable  and  proper,  he  then  said,  "Is  there  anything  more 
you  would  wish  me  to  say?"  The  boy  rubbed  his  toes 
against  his  heel  and  said,  "I  believe  you  ought  to  add. 
'Please  excuse  this  poor  writing  and  bad  spelling.' "  The 
printer  can  fix  up  the  writing  and  spelling,  but  you  will 
please  excuse  the  diction. 

I  am  not  familiar  enough  with  the  citizens  of  the  village 
of  Lovington  to  know  just  what  you  are  doing.  I  would 
write  about  other  interests,  but  I  have  been  away  for  fif- 
teen years,  and  for  two  years  I  have  only  passed  through 
the  place.  Hence.  I  cannot  say  much  about  the  present 

38 


REMINISCENCES  o/  ^  FORTY-NINER 

conditions,  only  I  know  there  are  some  very  good  people 
living  there.  I  have  many  good  friends  among  them  and  I 
hope  to  cherish  them  as  long  as  I  live.  Some  day  I  may 
come  back  up  there,  and  if  I  can  give  security  for  good 
behavior,  live  and  end  my  earthly  days  within  the  bounds 
of  Lovington  township. 

With  nothing  but  good  wishes  for  you  all,  I  will  close 
this,  my  first  and  possibly  last,  effort  at  writing  history. 

W.  G.  COCHRAN. 


39 


REMINISCENCES  «j  ^  FORTY-NINER 


AN    APPRECIATION 

BY  INT  STANLEY, 
EDITOR  L-OVINGTON  REPORTER. 


5^ AST  week  in  referring  to  Mr.  Cochran's  recent  "recollec- 
llj  tions,"  which  had  been  appearing  in  these  columns,  we 
suggested  that  his  part  in  the  story  of  L,ovington's  growth 
should  be  written,  and  under  the  impulse  of  the  moment  agreed 
to  supply  the  missing  links.  After  more  mature  reflection  the 
magnitude  of  the  task  has  dawned  upon  us  and  it  is  with  the 
full  knowledge  that  the  story  must  be  halting  and  incomplete 
that  we  begin  it. 

Mr.  Cochran  first  saw  the  light  of  day  in  the  old  Ross  county, 
Ohio,  home,  November  I3th,  1844.  Four  years  later  his 
parents,  Andrew  and  Jane  Cochran,  came  west  and  located 
northwest  of  I^ovlngtoa  in  this  township  Here  our  subject 
grew  to  young  manhood.  His  life  was  that  of  the  average 
country  boy  of  that  period.  The  country  was  new.  Raw  prairie 
and  unbroken  tracts  of  timber  faced  the  sturdy  manhood  that 
had  come  to  this  new  country  in  search  of  fortune.  Young 
Cochran  did  his  part  to  make  fertile  farms  of  the  unbroken 
fields  of  waving  prairie  grass.  Industry  has  been  one  of  the 
characteristics  of  his  life  and  those  who  in  later  years  have 
watched  him  climb  from  height  to  height  will  agree  with  us 
that  he  was  no  drone  when  muscle  and  brawn  met  and  made  to 
blossom  the  untilled  acres  of  his  father's  farm. 

At  the  call  to  arms  in  1861  young  Cochrau,  at  the  age  of  17 
years,  sought  to  enlist  in  his  country's  service.  He  was  rejected 

40 


REMINISCENCES  «f  ^  FORTY-NINER 

on  account  of  his  youth  by  the  captain  of  the  company.  The 
following  year,  however,  he  enlisted  in  Co.  A,  I26th  Illinois 
infantry,  and  throughout  the  balance  of  that  terrific  struggle  he 
did  a  soldier's  part.  In  the  fighting  at  the  siege  of  Vicksburg, 
the  troublous  campaign  through  Arkansas  and  in  the  famous 
Red  River  expedition  Mr.  Cochran  did  service  for  his  country 
and  stood  without  flinching  all  the  hardships  and  dangers  inci- 
dent to  the  soldier's  life.  He  was  promoted  to  sergeant  and  at 
the  expiration  of  three  years  service  was  honorably  discharged 
at  Springfield  in  August,  1865.  These  three  years,  as  he  was 
verging  upon  manhood's  estate,  was  perhaps  to  him  the  most 
interesting  period  of  his  life  and  he  never  tires  of  telling  his 
army  experiences.  For  more  than  a  third  of  a  century  Mr. 
Cochran  has  been  one  of  the  most  popular  Grand  Army  orators 
in  the  union  and  his  services  have  always  been  in  demand  for 
addresses  at  meetings  of  the  veterans. 

Mr.  Cochran's  strenuous  life  on  the  farm  precluded  even  an 
opportunity  to  take  advantage  of  the  meager  educational  advan- 
tages of  the  period  and  at  the  time  of  his  enlistment,  not  being 
able  to  write  his  name,  he  made  his  mark.  We  mention  this 
fact  to  emphasize  the  remarkable  progress  which  the  develop- 
ment of  this  sketch  will  disclose. 

After  hostilities  had  ceased  and  the  plow  share  instead  of  the 
sword  had  again  secured  full  sway  our  subject  returned  to  the 
quiet  life  of  the  farm.  He  devoted  several  years  to  these  pas- 
toral pursuits  but  had  acquired  a  thirst  for  learning  and,  like 
Abraham  Lincoln  at  an  earlier  period,  he  devoted  every  spare 
moment  to  intellectual  development.  His  natural  bent  was  the 
law  and  to  that  end  he  directed  his  reading.  He  began  the 
study  of  law  under  H.  M.  Minor  in  Ivovington  in  1876  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1879.  Previous  to  this  he  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Charlotte  Keyes,  whose  death  occurred  in  December, 


REMINISCENCES  */  ^  FORTY-NINER 

1899,  and  in  1873  they  moved  to  Lovington  where  Mr.  Cochran 
engaged  in  the  restaurant  business  for  some  time,  afterward 
clerking  for  Foster  &  Gregory,  general  merchants.  With  his 
admission  to  the  bar  began  his  real  upward  climb.  He  is  a 
natural  orator,  quick  witted,  an  attractive  speaker  and  his  suc- 
cess in  the  practice  of  his  profession  was  phenomenal  from  the 
very  start  and  his  popularity  and  success  continued  up  to  his 
election  to  the  circuit  judgeship  which  necessarily  forced  him 
to  give  up  the  active  practice  of  his  profession.  With  the  ex- 
ception or  Hon.  John  R.  Eden,  Mr.  Cochran  has  probably  been 
interested  in  more  suits  at  law  than  any  other  three  lawyers  in 
the  county.  He  is  a  safe  counselor  and  his  gratuitous  advice 
has  perhaps  saved  his  friends  thousands  of  dollars  in  litigations 
that  less  scrupulous  lawyers  would  have  urged  on.  With  the 
law  politics  naturally  followed. 

After  being  admitted  to  the  bar  Mr.  Cochran  began  the  prac- 
tice of  law  in  Loviugton.  He  also  engaged  in  real  estate  busi- 
ness. His  clientage  extended  to  neighboring  counties.  In 
politics  Mr.  Cochran  has  always  been  an  ardent  republican. 
His  political  career  began  by  his  election  as  constable  of  I/>v- 
ington  township  early  in  the  seventies.  He  afterwards  served 
as  township  assessor  and  as  a  village  official.  In  1888  he  was 
elected  to  the  state  legislature  and  at  the  special  world's  fair 
session  in  1890  was  speaker  of  the  house.  He  was  again  elected 
to  the  legislature  in  1894  and  in  1895  was  elected  speaker  of  the 
house.  He  was  re-elected  in  1896  and  at  the  expiration  of  that 
term  was  elected  circuit  judge  to  which  office  he  was  re-elected 
six  years  later  and  at  present  serves  in  that  official  capacity. 

Mr.  Cochran  has  held  many  appointive  offices  of  high  honor 
and  has  several  times  been  prominently  mentioned  for  the  gov- 
ernorship. His  political  career  has  been  a  steady  upward  climb 
and  every  position  in  life  has  been  filled  with  credit  and  high 

42 


REMINISCENCES  o/  ^  FORTY-NINER 

honor  to  himself  and  to  his  constituents. 

In  1891  the  family  moved  to  Sullivan  where  they  now  reside. 
Mr.  Cochran  always  speaks  of  Lovington  as  home  and  our  peo- 
ple have  always  claimed  him  as  one  of  them . 

In  1866  he  united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and 
has  been  a  regularly  licensed  local  preacher  in  that  denomina- 
tion since  1870.  He  is  an  ardent  church  and  Sunday-school 
worker  and  in  this  as  in  everything  he  undertakes  he  has 
always  been  a  leader.  He  is  a  member  of  the  L/ovington 
Masonic  lodge,  the  Sullivan  chapter  and  the  Decatur  com- 
mandary.  He  is  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Masonic  home  and 
was  the  leader  in  the  work  to  secure  the  acceptance  of  the  Miller 
bequest .  He  is  also  a  prominent  member  of  other  orders.  Mr. 
Cochran 's  life  has  been  a  continued  upward  climb  along  all  the 
avenues  of  life.  He  has  been  favored  by  fortune  through  his 
own  exertions  and  because  he  merited  the  honors  he  sought. 
Perhaps  the  highest  eulogy  we  can  write  of  him  is  that  he  is  an 
earnest,  honest,  industrious,  manly  man.  Handicapped  by 
poverty  and  lack  of  education  he  entered  life's  arena  and 
bravely  fovight  down  every  obstacle.  He  refused  to  accept 
defeat,  and  discouragement  only  served  to  spur  him  to  greater 
efforts.  From  an  humble  farmer  boy  he  has  become  a  national 
figure.  He  is  now,  in  the  prime  of  his  usefulness,  a  jurist  of 
ripe  experience,  and  enjoys  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  not 
only  the  legal  fraternity  of  the  district  he  serves  but  of  all  the 
people. 

His  success   on   the  bench  and  at  the  bar  has  been  due,  not 
solely  to  his  legal  training   and   quick   perception,    but  to   his 
sterling  honesty   and   high   sense  of  justice.      We  bespeak  for 
him  many  years  of  usefulness. 
—  From  The  Reporter,  May  25,  '906. 

43 


